Trailing 6-0 heading to their final at-bat, the Tigers tied the game before winning it in 12 innings for their biggest ninth-inning comeback in 66 years.

"I don't know if anybody's noticed this but over the years – I've done it a couple times with (Miguel Cabrera's) injuries and once in a while with Prince (Fielder) – but I'm more likely to take guys out when you're way behind than when you're way ahead," Leyland said Sunday.

"I don't take guys out when we've got leads. Very rarely. I've done it a few times with Miguel because of his injury obviously and I get Prince out of there once in a while because they play every day. But very rarely do I take guys out when I've got the lead because of what you saw last night."

The ninth started with consecutive hits by Torii Hunter, Cabrera, Fielder, Victor Martinez and Andy Dirks, the last one being a three-run homer that gave the Tigers life.

"I was still shaking my head when I went to bed last night," Leyland said. "I don't know how the hell all that happened. I talked to two family members that were in la-la land by the time (the game ended) ... because they were mad at the manager. Screwed up another one. They're done.

"So they turned it off."

Besides the comeback, Leyland was also impressed by how many fans stuck with the Tigers despite the six-run deficit entering the ninth.

Many fans had long since headed for the exits when the Tigers came to bat in the ninth but many were still on hand hoping for a miracle – and they were rewarded.

"Pretty impressive," he said, before joking that "I got some calls this morning. 'What the hell happened?' I said, 'I'm not going to tell you if you're not loyal enough to stay up and watch it.' I have no idea how to explain that, to be honest.

"But it was wonderful. I know that."

Leyland has also been on the other end of a comeback in a game that might have been more memorable for what happened afterward because of his team's loss.

He was managing the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989 when they built a 10-0 lead over the Phillies after the first inning in Philadelphia.

"Jim Rooker, our announcer at the time – our Dan Dickerson – said if we lost that game he'd walk from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia," Leyland said, much to the amusement of Dickerson, who was standing nearby. "And he walked from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh."

But Leyland will never forget the game because of the comeback, which he said didn't come as a surprise as Philadelphia rallied to post a 15-11 victory.

"I hate to say this, but in the dugout I knew we were going to lose the game," Leyland recalled. "I could see it. Two-run homer. Hit batsman. Two outs, hit a guy. Boop. Home run, 10-4. Managers, you can usually tell.

"I said, 'This is not good.' And we lost. You hate to say it because you're trying not to be negative but every once in a while you get that bad feeling ... this is not going to work out too good."

The best comeback by a Leyland team before Saturday night also came when he was in the National League, where he also managed the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies.

"Five down to the Dodgers one time and we came back and won," he said. "But not six (runs down). That's a first for me. That's a first."